Steve Jobs: "Death is very likely the single best invention of life."

Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

During his Stanford commencement speech in 2005, visionary Apple CEO, Steve Jobs stated: “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

I wrote my first book on the Macintosh, and loved every minute of it. Thank you Steve for transforming our world with your elegant taste and vision, asking of others “Is this the best you can do?” and optimizing innovation. I will miss you.